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Category:    Home > Reviews > TV Situation Comedy > Science > Geeks > Pop Culture > Drama > Show Business > Silent Cinema > Medical > Br > Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season (2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/Bye Bye Germany (2017/Film Movement DVD)/Garden Of Eden (1928/Flicker Alley Blu-ray)/Good Karma Hospital: Series Two (201

Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season (2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/Bye Bye Germany (2017/Film Movement DVD)/Garden Of Eden (1928/Flicker Alley Blu-ray)/Good Karma Hospital: Series Two (2018/Acorn Blu-ray Set)/Harry and Walter Go To New York (1976/Columbia/Sony/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)



Picture: B/B-/B/B/B Sound: B-/B-/C+/B/B- Extras: C+/C+/C/C+/B- Main Programs: C+/B/C+/B/C



PLEASE NOTE: The Harry and Walter Go To New York Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered from the links below.



The next set of comedy reviews cover 80 years of comedy, including newer productions with jokes that go back further than that...



We start with The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season (2017 - 2018) which continues to be a big despite some fans walking away and other starting to feel it is a show becoming long in the tooth. At least the show has been character consistent and the actors all have the same energy and fun, thus why it has stayed a hit. With the launch of Young Sheldon (reviewed elsewhere on this site), how much longer can the main show go on?


This time, the big relationship question of whether Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) will get married, a question that plagued shows like That Girl (they did not), Get Smart (they did and even just consummating the relationship (Moonlighting, where the did and it had the same bad effect) so will marriage happen then kill the fun?


Whether or not, it was decided that the next season would be the last, so can the makers and cast keep it going, but the self-deprecating humor, geek, pop culture, comic book, movie, Star Trek, Star Wars, science and loser jokes are starting to wear thin. We get 24 half-hours this time and what happens is that old subplots that were not as good as others are referenced and maybe that gets to be too much too. Non fans and the less familiar will not be totally lost watching this, but starting from the beginning is always best for best effect.


Despite a little motion blur here or there, the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is consistent with the previous sets, including good color range that is better than most productions today. However, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on each episode can be a little underwhelming and could have better soundfields, or at least more consistent ones.


Extras include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and other cyber iTunes capable devices, while the Blu-rays add a Gag Reel and four Making Of featurettes including the 2017 Comic Con Panel, a BBT History Of Time, The Blueprint Of Comedy and The Maturation Imperative.



Bye Bye Germany (2017) is a well produced German comedy/drama about a Holocaust survivor whose on a mission to make it to America. Starring Antje Traue and Moritiz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run), the hilarious film reunites director Sam Garbarski with Bleibtreu for more of their trademark cinematic magic after their hit film Vijay and I (2013) and others.


The film also stars Tania Garbarski, Jeanne Werner, and Anna Konig to name a few.


Presented in standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a 5.1 German lossy Dolby Digital audio mix with English subtitles (a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is an option on the disc as well), the film looks and sounds as good as it can on the DVD format. The film is nicely shot and stylized with a high budget feel that would be even better if it were on HD. Still, the soundtrack and mix here is nice and aside from compression, it looks great.


Special Features...


Bonus Short Film: Strings (Directed by Erin Morris)


Trailers


and About Film Movement piece



Lewis Milestone's Garden Of Eden (1928) is a restored silent film (released at the time by United Artists, but no longer owned by them) that could have been a drama about class division as a young baker gal (Corrine Griffith) can sing and has a desire to try out for the big time, so she leaves Budapest and goes for fame and fortune in Paris, France.


Of course, it is not that simple as she is pushed around by the head of a cabaret (Maude George) she works for, gets help from the place's seamstress (Louise Dressler) and lands up with three men (Charles Ray, Lowell Sherman and Edward Martindel) who she is not interested in... save maybe one. Still could be a drama, but is a good silent comedy at a wise 71 minutes that has a few good moments and I surprisingly consistent and coherent, versus most comedies we've suffered through lately on the site.


It is nice to see another silent classic saved and Flicker Alley has issued it on a quality Blu-ray for everyone to enjoy, though I had reviewed this film years ago on DVD (elsewhere on this site) and was more impressed then. Guess that was because seeing silent films restored so well was less common then. These are also good actors and it is a shame we did not see more of the, later, but cheers to the Production Design by the legendary William Cameron Menzies. It is the additional reason to see this film at least once and be glad it was saved.


The 1080p 1.19 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer can show the age of the materials used of course, but it has been painstaking restored as well as possible and looks pretty good for tis 80th Anniversary. The new instrumental music score is only offered here in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo by Robert Israel, that fits, but did not stock with me. Too bad this was not at least PCM 2.0 Stereo.


Extras include two stills sections: one of production still of the film from Milestone's Estate and the other, images from the original pressbook, plus the 10 minutes short Hollywood The Unknown (1927) that shows filmmaking of the time.



The medical drama/comedy The Good Karma Hospital returns with a six episode second season (Series Two (2018) and thanks in high fashion on Blu-ray disc thanks to RLJ and Acorn. The show takes place in India and has some stunning locations and cinematography and is an enjoyable program for what it aims to be.


The show stars Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, Neil Morrissey, James Floyd, and Sagar Radia to name a few. The show is complete with chapter selections and three episodes per Blu-ray disc.


The story centers around the young Ruby Walker (Acharia), a junior doctor who learns from working hard in the field at a hospital in rural India known as the Karma Hospital. Walker joins the hard-working team of medics at the town's local hospital.


Presented on 1080p Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless track, the presentation here is crisp and perfect for the nature of the show. The image is clean and crisp throughout, with no visible signs of artifacts or high end compression. The skin textures and as adequate as can be expected for 1080p and the colors are nicely saturated.


Special Feature... a 30 minute Behind the Scenes Featurette


The Good Karma Hospital is a charming and interesting drama that is realistic in its portrayal of both medical emergencies and human drama.



Finally we have Mark Rydell's Harry and Walter Go To New York (1976), a comedy set in the Vaudeville era with George Segal and James Caan as two stage performers who are also con artists looking for a break.. or break in into a bank to rob it and stay on easy street. Unfortunately, the cops know who they are when they can find them and they have sophisticated competition in a sophisticated gentleman robber (Michael Caine) who has similar banking plans.


Presented here 111 minutes, the film was and is very uneven and does not add up as it should, but we discover in this edition (though we get no missing footage) that the film was cut down and recut because Columbia Pictures was not impressed and tried to cut expected losses. It may have been a self-fulfilling prophecy as it has some great supporting actors (Carol Kane, Ted Cassidy, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning, Val Avery, Leslie Ann Warren and Jack Gilford) with some of them not getting enough screen time. At least in this problematic studio cut.


Because of this, Sony is licensing it to the Twilight Time label so it can be one of their Limited Edition Blu-rays and that makes sense enough so at least it is out there in the one form it always seems to have been. Too bad we could not get two cuts, but maybe the cut footage I lost forever. If you are a fan of these actors or comical situations, you should see this one at least once and judge for yourself. It had promise, but apparently the production went a little out of control. Oh well.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is dark and has plenty of indoor shots to its disadvantage, especially when you have a genius like Director of Photography Laszlo Kovacs, A.S.C. (Easy Rider, What's Up Doc?, Five Easy Pieces) who absolutely knows how to shoot a comedy. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is as good as it can get for an old optical mono theatrical release of its time, though expect slight distortion at times.


Extras include a solid, nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and yet another excellent, underrated essay by the great film scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a fine, feature length audio commentary track by Lee Pfeiffer, Eddy Friedfeld & Paul Scrabo, Isolated Music Score Track and Original Theatrical Trailer.



To order Harry and Walter Go To New York limited edition Blu-rays, buy it and other great releases while supplies last at these links:


www.screenarchives.com


and


http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/



- Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Germany, Karma)

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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